This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7 119 from an application for xe2x80x9cHAIR DRIER HAVING A PAD FOR GENERATING FAR-INFRARED RAYS AND ANIONS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE PADxe2x80x9d earlier filed in the Korean Patent Office on Jun. 29, 2002, and there duly assigned Serial No. 2002-0037411 by that Office.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair drier having a pad structure for generating far-infrared rays and anions, more specifically to a pad structure in which a number of minerals such as muscovite, tourmaline and lanthanum are mixed to form a plate shaped pad structure for surrounding an electrothermal wire, and a method for making the pad structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A hair drier draws air from the outside of the hair drier, heats the air, and blows the heated air through a front portion of the hair drier to remove remaining moisture from hair for a short time or to set a desired hair style. In the conventional hair drier, the hair-dryer has an electrothermal wire which is heated at a certain temperature when the hair drier is powered by a power supply. As a result, a user can remove remaining moisture from hair for a short time or to make hair in a desired style. However, frequent use of this hair drier tends to damage hair, for example, splitting hair tips.
On this reason, minerals such as tourmaline for generating far-infrared rays or anions is coated with an adhesive on the surface in contact with the electrothermal wire, that is, the surface of at least one of a heat insulating pad surrounding the electrothermal wire and the support plate where the electrothermal wire is wound. Therefore, when the electrothermal wire is heated, minerals coated with an adhesive on the heat-insulating pad or the supporting plate generate far-infrared rays or anions to prevent the detriment of hair. However, because the coating is attached with the adhesive, the heat from the electrothermal wire significantly lowers the adhering force of adhesive. This causes minerals to separate or peel off from the heat-insulating pad or the supporting plate. Therefore, as the hair drier is longer, the generation of far-infrared rays or anions is more reduced.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved hair dryer generating far-infrared rays and anions.
It is another object to provide a pad structure generating far-infrared rays and anions for long.
It is also an object to provide an improved method for making the pad structure.
It is further an object to provide an improved pad structure to prevent the detriment of hair.
In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the preferred embodiment of the hair dryer includes: a body having an inlet and an outlet; an intake cover having a filter, the intake cover connected to the inlet; a nozzle having a grille, the nozzle connected to the outlet; a handgrip connected to the body and the intake cover; a motor mounted within the body for generating current of air through the inlet and the outlet, the motor having a rotation shaft; a fan press-fitted into the rotation shaft, the fan drawing the air from the inlet and blowing the air through the outlet: a plate mounted between the outlet and the motor; an electrothermal wire wound around the plate for heating the drawn air from the inlet; and a pad surrounding the electrothermal wire, the pad comprising minerals and a bonding agent bonding the minerals to each other, the pad being elastic and generating far-infrared rays and anions when the electrothermal wire is heated.
It is preferred that the minerals comprise muscovite with a ratio of about 85 to about 95 percent by weight, tourmaline with a ratio of less than about 10 percent by weight, and lanthanum with a ratio of less than about 0.1 percent by weight. It is more preferred that the tourmaline has a ratio of about 3 to about 5 percent by weight. It is also more preferred that the lanthanum has a ratio of about 0.01 percent by weight.
The pad can be made into various shapes. It is preferred that the pad has a plate shape. The supporting plate can be made of the pad.
The pad according to the present invention can be applied to electrical consumer appliances with the electrothermal wire such as a curling brush, a microwave oven, and a toaster.
A method of making a pad for generating far-infrared rays and anions, the method comprising the steps of: pulverizing muscovite having a high elasticity and dielectricity and tourmaline having pyroelectricity for generating far-infrared rays and anions into fine granules; producing a mixture by mixing the pulverized granules of muscovite, tourmaline, and lanthanum which is able to be charged without any external energy supply to perform ionization; and bonding the granules to each other by adding a bonding agent to the mixture. The method may further include the step of heat-pressing the bonded mixture to form a plate-shaped pad, preferably at a surface temperature of about 400xc2x0 C. with a pressing roller.
According to the present invention, when the electrothermal wire is heated, far-infrared rays and anions can be directly and continuously emitted from the pad structure regardless of the service period of the hair drier so that hair damaged by curling or dyeing can be recovered, a scalp can be maintained sound, and hair can be maintained in a desired style for a long time.